As a booming industry with increasing demand, home health care agencies face many challenges. From employees to patient care, there’s an endless amount of information you have to manage, not just for your own benefit, but for regulatory purposes as well.

On top of the day-to-day details, like time tracking and documenting visits, home health care agencies have to contend with federal, state, and local regulations that govern business operations, including requirements of employees. For example, some states require a criminal background check and others do not. You may also need to document driver’s licenses and proof of insurance.

That’s a lot of administrative work. Without systems and technology in place to alleviate some of the burden, it’s more difficult for your company and your employees to give your energy fully to your patients.

Let’s face it, paperwork is not why home health care agencies get into this business. It’s the people. You care first and foremost about quality care and patient satisfaction, both of which rely heavily upon your health care workers. Patients and their loved ones want to know they are getting excellent care from well-trained professionals.

That’s precisely why there’s such an emphasis on continuing education for nurses and other providers. Having staff with diverse qualifications and certifications not only helps current patients feel like they’re in capable hands, but it’s also a selling point for future clients and is a way to set your agency apart from others.

But tracking certificates for continuing education can become unwieldy. There are nearly 200 nursing certifications. Some common certificates include:

• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Wound Care Certifications (WCC)
• HIV/Aids Certificate (ACRN)\
• Advanced Diabetes Management (ADM – BC)
• Certified Alzheimer Care (CAC)

Without a good system in place to organize and keep track of all this information, selling your agency as the most qualified becomes a lot more difficult.

Manually tracking these certifications in a spreadsheet is one way to go about “systemizing” certification tracking. But if certain certifications expire or require renewal, like a nurse’s license, you and your employees have to be on top of those dates.

There’s no easy way to automatically send notifications warning of impending renewals with a spreadsheet solution. And with potentially dozens of nurses and physical therapists, that’s a lot of information to manage. It also makes it trickier for you to easily provide an ACHA auditor with the information they’re looking for.

That’s where turning to a more technologically-advanced solution that’s easy to use and requires minimal effort is the key to unlocking administrative burden. And CertPanda is here to help.

CertPanda is an online software that tracks certifications, licenses, qualifications, and associated documentation. Unlike a spreadsheet, CertPanda allows you to upload and attach your files and documents, keeping all important details in one place. It also proactively notifies you before any certificates or licenses expire.

By having your certification information centralized and organized, you’ll be ready for any AHCA audits. Your auditor will be able to quickly filter out the information they are looking for and see if you’re in compliance with regulations. That’s one less stressful thing to manage, leaving your agency and employees more time to focus on patient care.

Ready to spend more time on patients and less on administrative tasks? Sign up for CertPanda’s free trial today.